Sharia and the Making of the Modern Egyptian

Islamic Law and Custom in the Courts of Ottoman Cairo

Reem A. Meshal

Description

In this book, the author examines sijills, the official documents of the Ottoman Islamic courts, to understand how sharia law, society and the early-modern economy of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ottoman Cairo related to the practice of custom in determining rulings. In the sixteenth century, a new legal and cultural orthodoxy fostered the development of an early-modern Islam that broke new ground, giving rise to a new concept of the citizen and his role. Contrary to the prevailing scholarly view, this work adopts the position that local custom began to diminish and decline as a source of authority.These issues resonate today, several centuries later, in the continuing discussions of individual rights in relation to Islamic law.

Sharia and the Making of the Modern Egyptian

Islamic Law and Custom in the Courts of Ottoman Cairo

Reem A. Meshal

Table of Contents

Introductioni: A Very Modern Crisisii: Mapping the terrainiii: The Chaptersiv: The SourcesChapter OneThe Empire in TheoryIntroductioni: the Empire in Historiographyii: the Empire in TheoryChapter TwoCustom in Shari'a and in the Siyasati Ilahi (Celestial Siyasa)Introductioni: the "Good" and the "Detestable" in Islamic Lawii: Custom in Islamic legal theoryiii: iii: the Siyasati Ilahi and Namus LawsChapter ThreeThe Construction of Orthodoxy:Renewal (Tajdid) & Renunciation (Takfir)IntroductionSection i: Inter-Empire Trade and the Rise of Local CapitalSection i: Takfir; The Intra-Muslim JihadSection ii: Tajdid; The Social ConquestChapter Four"This Sijill is a Hujja!"Mass Producing Documents in Ottoman-CairoIntroductioni: The Document Triumphantii: The Document in Theoryiii: The Sijill as Text and Testamentiv: The Fusion of Speaking and WritingChapter FiveThe Documented LifeIntroductioni: The Document in Stasis: Territorializing Shari'aii: Archival Violence and Memoryiii: The Document in MotionChapter SixThe Rights of God (Huquq Allah)"A Moral Transgression, not a Crime"Introductioni: The Hududii: The Threshold of Moralityiii: Civil Marriage-the conditional clause-the deferred doweriv: Divorce and Annulmentv: WaqfChapter SevenThe Rights of Man (Huquq al-Adamiyyin)Introductioni: Multiplicity and Conformityii: Private Mu'amala; the Empire in the Cityiii: Public Mu'amalat; The Community in the EmpireConclusionsBibliography

Sharia and the Making of the Modern Egyptian

Islamic Law and Custom in the Courts of Ottoman Cairo

Reem A. Meshal

Reviews and Awards

"Far more than a historical research into the past, Meshal has created a historical work of the present. Uncovering debates on authority, identity and the integral relationship between politics and religion allows for further understanding of the paramount debates of Muslim societies today."--Samantha May, Politics, Society and Ideology